


Promotor Fidei

by kenaran



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: F/M, Final One, Season/Series 04
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 06:23:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13184199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenaran/pseuds/kenaran
Summary: Honey, I think we need to talk. About the Final One.





	Promotor Fidei

**Author's Note:**

> First published: October 2008 (Survival Instinct). I am making a conscious effort to not rewrite texts that have already been published elsewhere in order to focus on finishing new works. So, no changes. That does not mean I will not appreciate feedback.
> 
> Timeframe/Spoilers: Takes place some time after 4x10, so spoilers up to and including that episode. When writing the story, I was very much rumor free beyond that though, so anything turning out true would just be a lucky guess.
> 
> Disclaimer: Have we seen them shagging yet? No? Obviously not mine then.

"Bill?"

She enters their home expecting him to be there. She's late, after all. He wouldn't miss the chance to remind her to take things easy. That and, really, where else would he be? 

The lamp on their desk is the only light, but it doesn't take much to see that both desk and couch are unoccupied. She's on her way to check the bathroom when she spots him sitting on the floor – back against the wall, legs drawn up, arms on them in turn supporting his head, his hands hiding his face – next to the small table carrying his ever dwindling supply of alcohol. Some of which is in a glass that stands next to him, seemingly untouched. Letting herself sink down beside him she waits for him to acknowledge her presence. When that doesn't happen, she breaks the silence:

"Bill? What happened?"

He doesn't look up at her, doesn't change his position at all when answering:

"I know, Laura. I just found out about the Final One."

Somewhere on the edge of her mind the question of how he knows flutters up, but she finds she doesn't care one bit. All she cares about now is the 'who'. The utter defeat in his voice lets her heart guess the answer to that question before she even asks it:

"And?"

"It's – " He can't bring himself to say it, but after another few seconds, she notices his posture become just a little more upright before he starts again: "It's me."

Just a few days ago that one sentence would have been enough to crush her world the moment she heard it. Now... she just doesn't know what to think and feel anymore. The prophecies have turned out to be somewhat of a let-down, Bill's best friend has managed to break and mend his heart with the same action. A Cylon has saved her life by using his own as bartering material – ah wait, still thinking of the same one there... Cylons had brought them to Earth. And Bill... 

Bill. She lets her head sink onto her hands, unconsciously mirroring his pose. The more or less coherent thoughts that filled her mind are replaced by countless fragments of memories.

He is calling his son on following the orders of a school teacher. Asking her to dance. Helping her out of her chair, pressing a kiss onto her dying lips. Lying in sickbay, battling his own fight against death. Same place, different time, reading to her. Getting Billy killed. Busting her attempt to steal an election. Lying under a sky full of stars, her head on his chest, both of them totally stoned. Throwing her into the brig. Telling her to get her fat lazy ass out of her rack. Letting Baltar get off. Getting out of a raptor on board a basestar.

No. She will not let all of this turn into lies. She just won't:

"Doesn't matter." They both look up and she can see the disbelief in his eyes. She can't blame him, her mind is still telling her it should matter. But it really doesn't: "Not to me."

They both know what she's really saying and he calls her on it: "I'm not who you fell in love with."

Isn't he?

"Yes, you are. So you're not human. You're still Bill. This doesn't change anything. I love you. I don't care who or what made you, I just know I love the result."

"You can't –"

"Yes, I can. Who do you think you are to tell my heart what it can and can't do? I can't even do that."

Not that she hasn't tried...

He seems to concede the point, but before she can revel in it he launches the next round:

"I can't risk it."

Huh?

"What?"

"What if my programming kicks in and makes me ... Laura, I just can't."

She rolls her eyes. Fool.

"I'm not talking about the fleet here, Bill."

"Neither am I." 

Oh... Frak. That is a good point. Except that... it's not! And she's gonna make him see that:

"If I were to lose my battle, that would devastate you. I know that. How do you think that makes me feel? I don't remember telling you that I just can't take the risk."

Even though he has the decency to look abashed he still objects:

"It's not the same."

The hell it isn't.

"Yes, it is. My body's betraying me and I can't guarantee I'm going to win that one. Same thing. You knew the risk. It was your choice whether to take it. So don't deny me mine."

Please don't!

She knows her eyes are communicating the begging she doesn't voice. And she will keep staring at him, sending that message until he admits – 

"You're right."

That was fast. But then, she is right:

"Of course I am."

Modesty might be a virtue, but she is far too proud of winning that particular argument – both with herself and him – to be virtuous at that particular moment. He doesn't seem to mind at all:

"Thank you."

The kiss they share lets her know they won't ever have to repeat that talk. The message has been received and acknowledged, there will be no more debate on the matter. Not as far as their personal lifes are concerned. As for the fleet – they'll find a way. Tomorrow. 

When they have finished sealing that promise, he is the one to speak up first:

"Laura?"

He waits until she meets his eyes before continuing:

"I'm no Cylon. You are."

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all feedback, as always, is very much appreciated. I've got a special favor to ask though:
> 
> If you either didn't really get the end or spotted it coming miles ahead, please let me know because I'm really unsure about whether it works. I mean, to me it's all perfectly clear, but that's not much of an achievement, is it? ;)
> 
> As for the title: 'Promotor Fidei' used to be the official name of a position in the Catholic Church commonly known as 'Devil's Advocate'. Wikipedia: "In common parlance, a devil's advocate is someone who takes a position, sometimes one he or she disagrees with, for the sake of argument. This process can be used to test the quality of the original argument and identify weaknesses in its structure." It's actually quite the spoiler, hence the rather obscure Latin version. (Oh, and the literal translation 'promoter of faith' works rather well, too.)


End file.
